Huion Pen Tablet Model 420 Review

I had a need for a Pen Tablet that would do digital signatures for both me and my pops. I didn’t want anything fancy and that hunt led me to the Huion Pen Tablet. There’s 2 versions of this particular tablet that looks exactly the same. The model 420 is what I’m review in this article but there’s an updated model called the H420 which has 3 express keys on the tablet itself and some other things I’m sure. Now that we got that clarified, let’s continue.

Specs

Installing

Installation was a breeze except for due to the position of my computer, the cable wasn’t long enough and I needed to use a USB extender. Once plugged in, windows 7 installed the drivers needed to get the tablet working. If this doesn’t happen for you, then you can download the drivers from the website or use the included disc.

Size & Style

The Huion pen tablet is simple in both design and function. It hardly takes up any space on my desk, so it wasn’t any problem to keep it hooked up and ready at all times. The clean black and grey top looks fine to me but for most it’ll simply look like it’s price tag, pretty cheap. The grey area is where more buttons would be if you get the updated H420 model that has 3 express buttons in this area for added functionality. If you hadn’t noticed from the pics, it’s made completely of plastic which also means it’s very lightweight as well.

Software

Installing the software is a must for the Huion Pen Tablet. There’s some important features in it. Like being able to easily test the functionality of the pen, adjust its sensitivity, setup the tablet for right or left hand use, and more.

Functionality

The pen tablet delivers on the bare minimum required for the amateur artist to get started drawing digitally and that’s the ability to open your photo editing software and start drawing easily.

The pen can be turned on or off by simply clicking the top button like your would a regular pen. The buttons on the side allow for 1 one of several actions which you can select in the included software. I have mine setup to right-click which allows me to change brush sizes in Photoshop as well and the 2nd button I set to allow me to switch screens when I want to use the pen like a mouse which it does pretty well.

When I am in Photoshop I set one button to change the brush size and the other switches you to the eraser tool. Now in order to do this, I have to go back into the software to change the 2nd button from switching screens to the keyboard shortcut which is a pain. I really wish you can set up profiles that you can switch on the fly but sadly at this price point that is asking a little much.

I was able to draw my rather terrible pieces in my Adobe Photoshop and there was little to no lag from my hand strokes to when it was displayed on the screen. The pressure levels worked nicely, displaying thick and thin lines according to the amount of pressure I used on the pen. The digital signatures was vastly improved from when I attempted them with the mouse. Looking almost exactly as they would if done on paper with a little patience so my mission was accomplished. Please see the video below.

Battery Life

I couldn’t really test battery life of the pen cause there’s no way I could really drain it with my minimal use within a year or even two.

Maintenance

Maintenance for the pen comes easy with this setup. Changing the pen tip is simple. Just use the circular tool provided and carefully grip the tip in the hole on the tool and pull it right out. Then you can stick a fresh tip in without any problems. To change the battery, unscrew the bottom portion of the pen and swap out the battery to a fresh one.

Conclusion

Despite the short cable and accidentally hitting the 2 buttons on the pen when I’m trying to sign a document or draw in photoshop, there wasn’t too many drawbacks with the Huion Pen Tablet tablet. It does exactly what it’s intended to do and it does it quite well. If you’re someone who simply wants to be able to sign documents digitally or make small edits in Photoshop like you would drawing on paper then this is for you. I would however encourage any graphic artist to spend a little more and step up to the higher models that Huion offers if for nothing more than much needed extra macro keys and maybe even a better pen.